End of Summer

Dylan and I tried a new local restaurant, Buttermilk, for brunch. The french toast he ordered didn't work for him. I told the waiter and they took it off our bill, so I left a big tip for their service. He and I think we will go back, perhaps for lunch instead.

Later he and I went to Game Stop and I got him the play station he needs to be able to play video games remotely with his brother, Aidan.

Aidan and I had a long talk. In Missoula, after his first week of classes, he seems to be adjusting well.

Both boys seem to think Julia is doing well in Napa. I guess I'll find out when I pick her up for a home visit on the 17th.

Me? I am remembering my youth, so long ago now, in Michigan. Labor Day always meant the end of summer, which in the upper Midwest is a big deal. Here, not so much.

There, we were usually at Rolling Hills, and it was the last chance for me to see my Royal Oak friends until the following Memorial Day weekend. We had BBQs, campfires, songs, games of Capture the Flag, fishing, swimming, and other stuff.

All with the knowledge that summer's fun was about to end and school (ugh) was about to start again.

I identify with my kids and their predicaments in this very different world. Dylan and I spoke about how he or his siblings might ever be able to live here in SF.

Let's hope for the next bust. That should do the trick.

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Navigating Change

I've always tried to be good at this kind of thing (change) but now, at this age, I am encountering problems. This neighborhood is facing cascading changes and many of them are affecting our family. Bougaloo's -- our long-time favorite place for brunch -- has closed. Couldn't afford the rent.

The Slow Club, next to KQED, has closed. Couldn't afford the rent.

Parking around here has become an ordeal.

I feel frightened, frankly, by change. I have no one here to help me adapt other than my dear youngest son, who does his best.

Last night be ordered us dinner from Spicy Bite, our favorite Indian restaurant, and we had a lovely dinner together.

I pray for a tech bust. So rents start to come down and the pressure gets off our neighborhood.

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Sunday Update

After I resolved my youngest daughter's cellphone issue, her 19-year-old brother and I had a late lunch at his favorite local Mexican restaurant, El Matate.

Before that, I was on the phone with the downtown Missoula Holiday Inn, where the manager said she would remove the $269.50 charge on my 20-year-old's debit card. It seems borderline corrupt that that charge ever appeared in the first place but I withheld that comment when on the phone with her assistant.

It turns out they demanded his debit card in case he and his GF accrued any additional charges while staying at the hotel. They did not -- he knew that the food there was too expensive so they avoided eating meals or purchasing anything there.

But for now there is no evidence that the hotel has removed the charge, so I am checking back frequently.

Capitalism! Whatever good there is to it, and there is much, the corruption it breeds saddens me and potentially harms all of us.

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Technical Success

On a hot summer's weekend, waiting for my 19-year-old to get up so we can get some Mexican food today.

Yesterday I went to a baseball game with an old friend from the Michigan Mafia group; the game was a stinker but we had a nice time catching up. Got sunburned.

Message from my youngest that her cellphone wasn't working and the only way to contact her was email. I called Verizon and got detailed instructions, which I relayed to her by email.

Not long after a text came in from her: "Hi it worked thank you."

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